One-time-use camera has driver for closing film cassette which is broken to disable camera after completed use

ABSTRACT

A camera for use with a film cassette having a movable light lock supported within a film egress/ingress slot to be moved closed after a filmstrip is wound into the cassette, comprises a cassette-receiving chamber, and a movable driver to be moved to close the light lock before the cassette is removed from the chamber. An exterior ingress opening to the chamber is provided to admit an insertion tool into the chamber to push the cassette out of the chamber. The driver has a weakened portion and is located for the tool to push the driver to force the cassette out of the chamber. Fixed means is located to break the weakened portion during movement of the driver, whereby the camera will be disabled.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Reference is made to commonly assigned copending applications Ser. No.08/371336, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CLOSING LIGHT LOCK OF FILMCASSETTE AND UNLOADING CASSETTE FROM CAMERA and filed Jan. 11, 1995 inthe names of David C. Smart and Thomas E. Dussinger, Ser. No.08/590,968, entitled CAMERA WITH FILM SENSOR AND DRIVER TO INITIATECLOSING OF CASSETTE RESPONSIVE TO RETURN OF FILMSTRIP TO CASSETTE andfiled Jan. 24, 1996 in the names of David C. Smart and Douglas H.Pearson, Ser. No. 08/590,662, entitled ONE-TIME-USE CAMERA HAS DRIVERFOR CLOSING FILM CASSETTE WHICH IS REMOVED WITH CLOSED CASSETTE TODISABLE CAMERA AFTER COMPLETED USE and filed Jan. 24, 1996 in the namesof David C. Smart and Douglas H. Pearson, Ser. No. 08/590,717, entitledONE-TIME-USE CAMERA UNCOVERS INGRESS OPENING FOR INSERTION TOOL TO EJECTCASSETTE WHEN CASSETTE CLOSED and filed Jan. 24, 1996 in the names ofDavid C. Smart and Thomas E. Dussinger, Ser. No. 08/590,792, entitledCAMERA WITH MANUAL FILM REWIND LOCKED WHEN CASSETTE CLOSED, PREFERABLYTO POSITION FILM EXPOSED INDICATOR IN WINDOW OF CASSETTE and filed Jan.24, 1996 in the names of David C. Smart and Thomas E. Dussinger, andSer. No. 08/590,719, entitled ONE-TIME-USE CAMERA WITH LID FLEXED TOUNCOVER CHAMBER WHEN CASSETTE FORCIBLY EJECTED FROM CHAMBER and filedJan. 24, 1996 in the names of David C. Smart and Ralph M. Lyon.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and inparticular to cameras to be used with film cassettes that can be openedand closed. More specifically, the invention relates to a one-time-usecamera that has a driver for closing the film cassette which is brokento disable the camera after completed use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Commonly assigned prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,303, issued Oct. 18,1994, discloses a film cassette having a light lock which is pivotedclosed to prevent ambient light from entering the cassette interior andis pivoted open to permit film movement out of and into the cassetteinterior. An implement or tool is designed to engage the light lock topivot it open and closed.

Commonly assigned prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,438, issued Jul. 27,1993, discloses a camera intended for use with a film cassette having alight lock which is pivoted closed to prevent ambient light fromentering the cassette interior and is pivoted open to permit filmmovement out of and into the cassette interior. The camera has a releasebutton which when manually moved in a releasing direction actuates alatching device. The latching device normally secures a door closed overa chamber holding the film cassette. However, when the latching deviceis actuated, it operates to pivot the light lock closed and to releasethe door to uncover the chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A camera for use with a film cassette having a movable light locksupported within a film egress/ingress slot to be moved closed after afilmstrip is wound into the cassette, comprises a cassette-receivingchamber, and a movable driver to be moved to close the light lock beforethe cassette is removed from the chamber, and is characterized in that:

an exterior ingress opening to the chamber is provided to admit aninsertion tool into the chamber to push the cassette out of the chamber;

the driver has a weakened portion and is located for the tool to pushthe driver to force the cassette out of the chamber; and

fixed means is located to break the weakened portion during movement ofthe driver, whereby the camera will be disabled.

Thus, the invention is particularly helpful when the camera is aone-time-use type. In this instance, it is desirable to break somecomponent of the camera to prevent unauthorized recycling of the camera.A camera that is recycled in an unauthorized way may be of lesserquality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are front perspective views of a partially shownone-time-use camera according to a preferred embodiment of theinvention, depicting operation of the preferred embodiment; and

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are front perspective views of a partially shownone-time-use camera according to an alternate embodiment of theinvention, depicting operation of the alternate embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is disclosed as being embodied preferably in aone-time-use camera. Because the features of a one-time-use camera aregenerally known, the description which follows is directed in particularonly to those elements forming part of or cooperating directly with thedisclosed embodiment. It is to be understood, however, that otherelements may take various forms known to a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

Preferred Embodiment (FIGS. 1-3)

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a film cassette 10 similarin operation to ones disclosed in prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,357,303,issued Oct. 18, 1994, and No. 5,231,438, issued Jul. 27, 1993. The filmcassette 10 includes a cassette shell 12 that contains a flanged spool14 on which is stored a wound unexposed/exposed filmstrip 16. A slightlyelastic light lock 18 is supported within a film egress/ingress slot 20in the cassette shell 12 to be pivoted open to permit film movement outof and back into the shell, through the slot, and to be pivoted closedto prevent ambient light from entering the shell, through the slot.

FIG. 1 shows the light lock 18 open and all but a trailing film endportion 22 of the filmstrip 16 wound into the cassette shell 12 afterthe filmstrip is exposed outside the cassette shell. FIGS. 2 and 3 showthe light lock 18 pivoted closed after the trailing film end portion 22is wound into the cassette shell 12.

A partially shown one-time-use camera 24 with which the film cassette 10is to be used includes a rear cover or back 26 and a chamber cover 28which, together, form a cassette chamber 30 for the film cassette.During manufacture of the one-time-use camera 24, the film cassette 10is placed in the chamber cover 28. Then, the chamber cover 28 isattached to the rear cover 26. A film egress/ingress slot 32 is locatedbetween the chamber cover 28 and the rear cover 26, opposite the filmegress/ingress slot 20 in the cassette shell 12, to permit film movementout of and back into cassette chamber 30.

The rear cover 26 has a bottom opening 34 that is aligned with a similaropening (not shown) in the chamber cover 28 to permit the film cassette10 to be removed from the cassette chamber 30 after the filmstrip 16 isexposed in the one-time-use camera 24 and returned to the cassette shell12. A bottom lid 36 normally covers the bottom opening 34. The bottomlid 36 has a thin peripheral lip 38 that is snugly received within thebottom opening 34 to removably hold the lid in place to close the bottomopening.

An actuator unit 40 for pivoting the light lock 18 closed when thetrailing film end 22 is wound into the cassette shell 12 comprises anintegral single-piece driver 42 and film sensor lever 44. The filmsensor lever 44 has a sensor head 46 shown in FIG. 1 in contact with thetrailing film end portion 22. The driver 42 has a depending drive-part48 engaging a top exposed axial end 50 of the light lock 18 to pivot thelight lock closed, and an upstanding key-part 52 that protrudes slightlyfrom a top opening 54 in the chamber cover 28.

A top ingress opening 56 in the rear cover 26 is located coaxially abovea drive hole 58 in the key-part 52 of the driver 42 as shown in FIG. 1.The ingress opening 56 and the drive hole 58 are similarly configured askeyways to successively receive a keyed forward end 60 of a manualinsertion tool 62 when the drive hole is aligned with the ingressopening as shown in FIG. 2. In particular, the ingress opening 56 andthe drive hole 58 each have a circular portion and a radial slot portionwhich define the keyways, and the keyed forward end 60 of the tool 62 iscomplementarily shaped.

Operation

Going from FIG. 1 to FIG. 2, it can be seen that when the trailing filmend portion 22 is wound into the cassette shell 12, a return torsionspring 64 that biases the sensor head 46 of the film sensor lever 44against the trailing film end portion, in order to enable the sensorhead to determine the presence and absence of the filmstrip 16 outsidethe cassette shell, urges the actuator unit 40 to rotatecounter-clockwise in FIG. 2. Consequently, the film sensor lever 44 issimilarly rotated to pivot its sensor head 46 snugly into an interiorfaceted cavity 66 in the rear cover 26, the drive-part 48 is similarlyrotated to pivot the light lock 18 partially closed about 60%, and thekey-part 52 is similarly rotated to align its drive hole 58 with theingress opening 56. The cavity 66 acts as a stop to limit rotation ofthe actuator unit 42, in order to align the drive hole 58 with theingress opening 56.

Since the drive hole 58 is aligned with the ingress opening 56, thekeyed forward end 60 of the tool 62 can now be manually insertedcompletely through the ingress opening 56 and into the drive hole 58.Then, the tool 62 is manually rotated counter-clockwise in FIG. 3 tosimilarly rotate the driver 42. Consequently, the drive-part 48 issimilarly rotated to pivot the light lock 18 further closed 40% tocompletely close the light lock, and the film sensor lever 44 (whosesensor head 46 is captured in the cavity 66) is broken away from thedriver 42 at a weakened interconnection 68. Slightly over-rotating thedrive part 48 will not harm the light lock 18 due to the elasticity ofthe light lock. Then, the tool 62 is manually pushed downward to forcethe driver 42 out of the cassette chamber 30 with the film cassette 10through the bottom opening 34. The film cassette 10 is pushed againstthe bottom lid 36 to pop the bottom lid away from the bottom opening 34.See FIG. 3.

When the driver 42 and the film sensor lever 44 are broken apart fromone another, and the driver is removed from the one-time-use camera 24with the film cassette 10 and discarded, reuse of the actuator unit 40is effectively precluded. This is appropriate to prevent unauthorizedrecycling of the one-time-use camera 24. An unauthorized recycled cameramay be of lesser quality than an authorized recycled camera.

Alternate Embodiment (FIGS. 4-6)

FIGS. 4-6 show an alternate embodiment of the camera 24. Substantiallythe same reference numbers as used in FIGS. 1-3 are used in FIGS. 4-6.Thus, the description of the alternate embodiment is limited to adescription of its operation (as contrasted to the operation of thepreferred embodiment of the camera 24).

Operation

Going from FIG. 4 to FIG. 5, it can be seen that when the trailing filmend portion 22 is wound into the cassette shell 12, the return torsionspring 64 that biases the sensor head 46 of the film sensor lever 44against the trailing film end portion urges the actuator unit 40 torotate counter-clockwise in FIG. 2. Consequently, the film sensor lever44 is similarly rotated to pivot its sensor head 46 into an interiorcurved cavity 70 (about 40% wider than the cavity 66 in FIG. 1) in therear cover 26 and against a far-end wall 72 of the cavity, thedrive-part 48 is similarly rotated to pivot the light lock 18 completelyclosed (100%), and the key-part 52 is similarly rotated to align itsdrive hole 58 with the ingress opening 56. The far-end wall 72 of thecavity 70 acts as a stop to limit rotation of the actuator unit 42, inorder to align the drive hole 58 with the ingress opening 56.

Since the drive hole 58 is aligned with the ingress opening 56, thekeyed forward end 60 of the tool 62 can now be manually insertedcompletely through the ingress opening 56 and into the drive hole 58.Then, the tool 62 is manually pushed downward to force the driver 42 outof the cassette chamber 30 with the film cassette 10 through the bottomopening 34. The film cassette 10 is pushed against the bottom lid 36 topop the bottom lid away from the bottom opening 34. The film sensorlever 44 (whose sensor head 46 is against the far-end wall 72 of thecavity 70) is broken away from the driver 42 at the weakenedinterconnection 68 when the driver is initially pushed downward. SeeFIG. 6.

The invention has been described with reference to a preferredembodiment. However, it will be appreciated that variations andmodifications can be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

PARTS LIST

    ______________________________________                                        10.         film cassette                                                     12.         cassette shell                                                    14.         flanged spool                                                     16.         filmstrip                                                         18.         light lock                                                        20.         slot                                                              22.         trailing film end portion                                         24.         camera                                                            26.         rear cover                                                        28.         chamber cover                                                     30.         cassette chamber                                                  32.         slot                                                              34.         bottom opening                                                    36.         bottom lid                                                        38.         peripheral lip                                                    40.         actuator unit                                                     42.         driver                                                            44.         film sensor lever                                                 46.         sensor head                                                       48.         drive-part                                                        50.         axial end                                                         52.         key-part                                                          54.         top opening                                                       56.         ingress opening                                                   58.         drive hole                                                        60.         keyed forward end                                                 62.         tool                                                              64.         return spring                                                     66.         cavity                                                            68.         weakened interconnection                                          70.         cavity                                                            72.         far end-wall                                                      ______________________________________                                    

We claim:
 1. A camera for use with a film cassette having a movablelight lock supported within a film egress/ingress slot to be movedclosed after a filmstrip is wound into the cassette, comprises acassette-receiving chamber, and a movable driver to be moved to closethe light lock before the cassette is removed from said chamber, and ischaracterized in that:an exterior ingress opening to said chamber isprovided to admit an insertion tool into the chamber to push thecassette out of the chamber; said driver has a weakened portion and islocated for the tool to push the driver to force the cassette out ofsaid chamber; and fixed means is located to break said weakened portionduring movement of said driver, whereby said camera will be disabled. 2.A camera as recited in claim 1, wherein said fixed means breaks saidweakened portion when said driver is moved to close the light lock.
 3. Acamera as recited in claim 1, wherein said fixed means breaks saidweakened portion as said driver is pushed to force the cassette out ofsaid chamber.
 4. A camera as recited in claim 1, wherein film sensormeans for sensing the presence of the filmstrip outside the cassette,proximate the slot, and for sensing the absence of the filmstrip outsidethe cassette once the filmstrip is wound into the cassette is connectedto said driver at said weakened portion to permit the driver to be movedto close the light lock in response to the film sensing means sensingthe absence of the filmstrip and to separate from the film sensing meanswhen the weakened portion is broken.
 5. A camera as recited in claim 1,wherein said driver is engaged with the light lock for the tool to pushthe driver out of said chamber with the cassette.